The suspect and victim in a Gretna stabbing case apparently share a love so great that authorities say not even attempted murder can derail their devotion to one another. Athena Sims, 35, of Bay St. Louis, Miss., confessed to knifing her 47-year-old boyfriend in the chest during an argument Saturday at the Deluxe Suites, 49 West Bank Expressway, Gretna, according to Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson.

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When officers found Sims curled into a ball at the foot of a staircase, she allegedly told them, "I stabbed him, but I love him." What's more, the unnamed victim called the police department from his hospital bed Monday and asked that the charges be dropped, telling authorities he knows that she loves him, Lawson said.

Gretna Police can not drop the charges, which were upgraded from aggravated battery to attempted second-degree murder after hospital officials informed investigators the victim's injuries were severe, Lawson said. The case must be filed with the district attorney's office.

The stabbing occurred just before 4 a.m. Officers were dispatched to the motel after receiving a 911 call about a disturbance involving a man, a woman and a knife, according to Lawson and an arrest report.

Officers arrived and found the victim unresponsive on the motel balcony outside of room No. 201. He had been stabbed twice in the chest, the arrest report said. The victim was taken to LSU Interim Public Hospital where he underwent two surgeries, Lawson said.

Sims allegedly gave the knife to motel staffers after the stabbing, according to the arrest report. Officers were able to recover the weapon. Lawson wasn't sure what sparked the argument between the lovers, but said the couple had been drinking

Sims could not be reached for comment Monday. She was still being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on a $100,000 bond.